Natixis Advisors L.P. Increases Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 217,671 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,126 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned about 0.38% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $13,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,640,383 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $239,815,000 after buying an additional 35,002 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.2% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,711,024 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $140,106,000 after acquiring an additional 108,593 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,011,906 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $52,295,000 after acquiring an additional 119,115 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.8% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 903,974 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $46,717,000 after purchasing an additional 143,326 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 62.9% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 595,995 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,801,000 after purchasing an additional 230,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total value of $876,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,881,368 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $810,671,891.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total transaction of $876,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,881,368 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $810,671,891.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 3.9 %

SMG traded down $2.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,033,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 763,200. The stock's 50-day moving average is $69.55 and its 200-day moving average is $61.62. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $43.67 and a 1 year high of $77.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.66 and a beta of 1.70.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 20.97% and a negative net margin of 10.14%. The company's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is -42.31%.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. The company provides lawn care products, comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, and other durable products, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; and gardening and landscape products, which include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes, garden soils, mulches and ground cover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions.